1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a hermetically sealed container used for a flat panel display apparatus, a flat type illumination apparatus, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a method of manufacturing a hermetically sealed container required for hermetically maintaining an internal space, various methods have been proposed up to now by Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H06-018829, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-236852, US Patent Publication No. 2006/0082298 and the like.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H06-018829 discloses a laminating device for a glass substrate which is provided with a pressing unit in a movable surface plate part and is also provided with a detecting unit for detecting a gap between glass substrates in its pressing place and controls the pressure unit by the detected value. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-236852 discloses a manufacturing device of the multiple-layered glass for detecting the thickness of a double-layered glass material and allowing a forward/backward driving device to operate such that this detected thickness and the opposed interval of a press device becomes equal. Further, US Patent Publication No. 2006/0082298 discloses a bonding method of the substrate provided with a pressure unit by magnet.
In any of the configurations disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H06-018829, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-236852, US Patent Publication No. 2006/0082298, there are often cases where it is difficult to have the gap between the substrate and the bonding member continuously brought into tight contact and unable to secure the hermetic sealing property, and the manufacturing method capable of securing air-tightness of the container more stably has been desired.
To describe more in detail, in the method of manufacturing the hermetically sealed container by installing a frame member between a pair of substrates and bonding between the frame member and the substrate by a bonding member, when an uneven thickness occurs in the bonding member, a gap (uneven contact) occurs between the bonding member and the substrate. This gap causes heat to be hardly transferred to the bonding member at the time of heating and melting the bonding member through the substrate so as to bond the substrate and the frame member. As a result, the molten state of the bonding member is different for each location, and the substrate and the bonding member are prevented from being uniformly contacted along the bonding member. Hence, in the heating and melting step of the bonding member, a continuously tight contact between the substrate and the bonding member is desired in order to improve hermetic sealing property of the container.